The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-07-14


Romaiis. TO the Corinthians. to the Galatians,
to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the
Collossians to the Thessalonians, to Timothyl
to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews, and
when they heard how he walked out of
prison with the earthquake unlocking the
door for him, and took command Of the
Alexandrian corn ship when the sailors were
nearly scared to death, and preached SER
mon that nearly shook Felix off his Judgment
seat. / hear the men and women who helped
him down through the window and over tho
wall talking in private over the natter an9
saving: "How glad ON that we effected that
rescuei In coming times Others may get the
glory Of Paul's work, but no one shall rob
Us OF the satisfaction of knowing that we
held the rope.
Once for thirty.six hours. we expected
every moment to go to the bottom of the
ocean. The waves struck through the sky
lights and rushed down into the hold of the
ship and Missed against the boilers. IS was ah
awful time; but, by the blessing Of God and
the fathfulness of the men in charge, we
came out of the cyclone and we arrived at
home Each one before leaving the ship
thanked Captain Andrews. | do not think
there was man or woman that went off
that ship without thanking Captain Andrews,
and when years after l heard of his death
| was impelled to write a letter of condo
lenee to his family in Liverpool. Evl
erybody recognized the goodness, the cour-
HSt, tHb hiiluIleSS VI NdDbtIi AHuleNS. Dut
it occurs to me now that we never thanked
the engineer. He stood away down in the
darkness amid the kissing furnaces doing his
whole duty. Nobody thanked the engineer,
but God recognized his heroism and his con-
tinuance and his fidelity, and there will
be just as high reward for the engineer who
worked out of sight as for the captain who
stood on the bridge of the ship in the midst
of the bowling tempest.
There are said to be about $4,000 ministers
of religion in this counay.. About so, 900 I
variant came from early homes which had
to struggle for the necessaries of life. The
SONS of rich bankers and merchants generally
become bankers and merchants, The most
Of those who become ministers are the sons Of
those who had terrific struggle to get their
everyday bread. The collegiate and theologi-
cal education OF that son took every luxury
from the parental table for eight years. The
other children were more scantily appareled.
The son at college every little while got a
bundle from home. In it were the socks that
mother had knit, sitting up. late at
night, her sight not as good as once
it was. And there also were some
delicacie5 ffom the sisters hand for
the voracious appetite of q hungry student.
The father swung the heavy cradle through
the wheat, the sweat rolling from his chin be-
dewing every step of the way, and then sit
ting down under the cherry tree at noon
thinking to himself: II am fearfully tired but
it will pay if | can once see that boy through
college, and if l can know that he will be
preaching the Gospel after | am dead" The
younger children want to know why hey
can't have this and that as others do, and the
mother says: "Be patient, my children, until
your brother graduates, and then you shall
have more luxuries; but we must see that
boy through"
The years go by, and the son has been
| ordained and is preaching the glorious
| Gospel, and a great revival comes, and souls
| by scores and hundreds accept the Gospel
| from the lips of that young preachef, and
| father and mother, quite old now, are visiting
| the son at that village parsonage, and at the
| close Of a Sabbath of Snighty blessing father
| and mother retire to their room, the son
| lighting the way and asking them if he can
| do anything to make them more comfortable,
saying if they want anything in the night
| just to knock on the wall. And then, all
| alone, father and mother talk over the
| gracious influences of the day and say:
''Well, it was worth all we went through
to educate that boy. 1t was hard pull, but
/ we held on till the work was. done. The
world may not know it, but, mother, we held
the rope, didn't weN And the voice, tremu-
lous with joyful emotion, responds: YES
| father, we held the rope. | feel my work is
done. Now Lord, lettast Thou Thy servant
depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy
salvation" ''Pshaw" says the father. II
| ntNel ltip 81 llutl 1iht llNIlS Ill liy hlc hs
now. l want to see what that fellow is going
on to do, he has begun so WELL"
| Something occurs to me quite personal. l
| was the youngest Of large family of child
ren. Ny parents were neither rich nor poor; ;
| four of the sons wanted collegiate education,
and four obtained it, but not without great
| home struggle We never heard the old peo-
| pie esay once that theywere denying themselves
| to effect this, but remember now that my
| parents always looked tired ! don't think
they ever got rested until they lay down
| in the Somerville cemetery. Mother would
sit down in the evening and say: well,
! l don't know what makes me feel so
tiredn Father would fall Immediately
to sleep, seated by the evening stand
overcome with the days fatigues. One of
the four brothers, after preaching the gospel
for about fifty years, entered upon his heav-
emily rest. Another of the four is on the
other side of the earth, missionary of the
cross Two of us are in this land in the home
ministry, and think all of us are willing to
acknowledge our obligations to the old folks
at home. About twenty-one years ago the
one, and about twenty-three years ago the
other, put down the burdens of this life, but
they still hold the rope.
y, men and women here assembled, you
brag sometimes how you have fought your
way in the world, but think there have been
helpful influences that you have never fully
acknowledged Has there not been some in
fuence in your early or present home that
the world cannot see! Does there not reach
to you from among the New England hills,
| or from western prairie, or from southern
plantation, or from English or Scottish or
Irish home ii cord of influence that has kept
you right when you would have gone astray,
and which, after you had made crooked
track, recalled you: The rope may be as
long as thirty years, or five hundred mile.
long, or three thousand miles long, but hand
that went out of mortal sight long ago will
hold the rope. You want yer,
swift horse, and you need to rowe
him with sharpest spurs, and to let th'
reins lie loose upon the neck, and to give {
shout to the racer if you are going to rid,
out of reach of your mothers prayers. Why
3 ship crossing the Atlantic in six days cam
sail away from that. A sailor finds them oi
the lookout as he takes his place, and find
them on the mast as he climbs the ratlines t.
disentangle rope in the tempest and find
them swinging on the hammock when h
turns in. Why not be frank and acknowl
edge 1.-THE most of us would long ago hav
been dashed to pieces had not gracious an,
loving hands steadily, lovingly and might,
held the rope.
But there must come a time when we shal
find out who these Damascenes were VIII,
lowered Paul in the basket, and greet then
and all those who have rendered to God am
the world unrecognized and unrecorde,
btINlCtS. 10 SolHS " De out VI tEt Rldi
, excitements of heaven, the hunting up an
, picking out of those who did great good o
, earth and got no credit for it. Here til
=, church has been going on for nineteen cen
turies. and yet the world has not recognize
! the services of the people in that Damascl
I balcony. Charles G.. Finney said TO dyin
Christian " Give my love to ST. Paul whe
I you meet him." When you and / meet hin
$ as we will, ! shall ask him to introduce n
r to those people who got him out of Il
r Damascene peril
Nego into long sermons to prove that v
/ VIII DE aole TO recognize people in heavel
l. When there is one reason we fail to presen
Is ana that IS better than all--tjod will intr
IS duce us. We shall have them all pointed on
{ You would not be guilty of the impolitene
a OF having friends in your parlor not intr
@ duced, and celestial politeness viii deman
e that we be made acquainted with all Il
q heavenly household. What rehearsal of o.
! times and recital of stirring "reminiscences
p If others fail to give introduction, God wi
:, take US through, and before our fir
Il twenty-f four hours in heaven--if it we
n calculated by earthly timepieces-haN
passed, We shall meet and talk with mo
n heavenly celebrities than in our entire mort
e state we met with earthly celebrities Mar
d who made great noise Of usefulness will s
1t on the last seat by the front door of Il
-e | lpaZalllv romrla wbila riphf t1r, Will h